


Things That Go Bump in the Night

by NorthernRoseOfMay



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Everyone's a mythical creature except for Juno, I just want him to be cared for, Juno is monster catnip, Min is a Kitsune, Other, The Kanagawa fam are fairies, The rest is a secret for now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-03-03 16:04:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13344666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NorthernRoseOfMay/pseuds/NorthernRoseOfMay
Summary: Unbeknownst to the general populace, there are monsters lurking in the shadows of Hyperion City. Demons and Fairies. Vampires and Werewolves. Dragons, Grims, and Fauns. Though the diversity was, well, diverse, they all seemed to agree on one thing - Don't touch Juno Steel, unless you want to be chased out of town or killed.Peter Nureyev had heard rumors of this guy as he journeyed through the galaxy. Juno Steel, who never missed. Juno Steel, who instilled fear in monsters who knew no fear. Juno Steel, who protected a city that in turn protected him back with wild fury.No one knew what Juno Steel was. Peter didn't know what to expect, but it sure wasn't a human.





	Things That Go Bump in the Night

Hyperion City.

According to its tourism board, it was the first colony on Mars to have settled, and more earth-like in its structure compared to the other cities and settlements. Tall, compact buildings casting shadow over endless, neon-lit alleys. Cars hovering close to the ground to avoid the electrical wires and washing lines strung between the buildings like spiderwebs. Loud music playing from small apartments, with teenagers drinking and laughing at people from the balconies. The sun never really reached the streets the same way it did in the more open cities, and on a planet where the sand and dirt was as warm-colored as the sun itself, the softer lights and colder colors of Hyperion made it beautiful to those tired of red, orange, yellow, white. They’d often advice travelers from elsewhere on Mars to time their journey so they’d arrive close to nighttime – Travelling through the red and orange of the Martian desert to see the purple-blue glow of Hyperion’s nightlife reflected on the dome protecting it from radiation. Lighting the way, much like the beacon of hope it was for the first earthen settlers.

The people who lived there had, more often than not, a rather different opinion of it. People disappeared. The police cared more for the elite than justice. Crimes could disappear from someone’s criminal record and reappear on someone else’s at the blink of a credit card. There were things moving in the shadows of the city, and as well-hidden as they were, most people had caught a glimpse of movement once or twice in their peripheral vision. Not enough to see the truth of what was out there, but enough to feel unsafe alone. As if there were people with guns or knives around every corner, just waiting for some helpless citizen to suck dry of creds and throw into a cold ditch.

If only people knew. Muggers and murderers were the least of their concerns.

Back when the planet was first being settled, it was dangerous and expensive as all hell to make the journey. However, even though it was a death wish that would kill the wallet of even the richest of people, there were some… specifically interested people. Some wanted to move further away from the sun. Some wanted away from the moon. Some simply saw these groups of people leaving for a planet for themselves, and wanted to join in.

Then the dome technology that kept people safe on Mars gradually improved over the years, as well as the price of transportation between Earth and Mars. People started pouring in, but not before every crack in Hyperion had been filled by people less human than the rest.

That part of Martian history was unknown to almost all of Mars. It wasn’t written down anywhere. The only ones who knew were those directly involved - some of the first Settlers, their descendants, and the rare few who had been at the wrong place at the wrong time and somehow lived to tell the tale.

Then there was Juno Steel, Private Eye.

No one seemed to know what his deal was. Out of all the things going bump in the night, he was an enigma. A lone wolf. A mystery few dared to get too close to unless they needed his help, somehow. No one knew just what kind of creature he was, just that he had a knack for problem-solving that no other creature could compare to, and a gun that never missed its target.

No one even considered he might just be human.

**Author's Note:**

> Can't sleep. Wrote this instead.   
> I love mythological creatures, so guess this is one way to express that? Maybe.   
> Just want to get this out of the way - Peter isn't a Kumiho, Kitsune, or Vampire in this one. I know those are popular, and people will probably assume he'd be one of those, but I wanted to try something different for him.  
> ... It's a secret for now. 
> 
> Sorry for the uh, probably pretty bad writing. English is like, my fourth language, so I lose a bit of control of it when I'm drowsy sometimes.


End file.
